See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/265711968

The Influence of Organisational Culture and Job Satisfaction on Intentions to

Leave: The Case of Clay Brick Manufacturing Company in Lesotho

Article  in  Eastern Africa Social Science Research Review · January 2013

DOI: 10.1353/eas.2013.0001

CITATION READS

1 131

2 authors, including:

Peter Khaola
National University of Lesotho
18 PUBLICATIONS   21 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

The relationships among leadership behaviours, organisational commitment, organisational justice, organisational citizenship behaviour and innovative work behaviour
View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Peter Khaola on 17 June 2016.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

Accessed 21 Nov 2014 07:41 GMT GMT
 

THE INFLUENCE OF ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE AND

JOB SATISFACTION ON INTENTIONS TO LEAVE: THE
CASE OF CLAY BRICK MANUFACTURING COMPANY IN
LESOTHO
Kelebone Leisanyane* and Peter P. Khaola**

Abstract: Employee turnover or retention has dominated the research agenda and
attracted practitioners’ attention for decades. Previous research has,
however, suffered from lack of macro perspective in understanding
employee turnover in organizations. Based on the survey of employees
in a clay brick manufacturing company in Lesotho, the purpose of the
present study was to examine the impact of job satisfaction and cultural
traits on turnover intentions. There was a negative and significant
correlation between job satisfaction and turnover intentions, and all
cultural traits and turnover intentions. Though the variance contributed
by cultural traits (stability and flexibility) over demographic factors
and job satisfaction was only marginally significant, and the impact of
flexibility cultural trait became insignificant in the regression analysis,
the influence of stability cultural trait remained strong in both
correlation and regression analyses. Managerial and theoretical
implications are also discussed in this study.
Keywords: Organisational culture, job satisfaction, turnover intentions,
cultural traits

1. INTRODUCTION
Employee turnover or retention has dominated the research agenda and
attracted practitioner attention for decades. Mitchell, Holtom, and Lee
(2001, 96) identify voluntary turnover as a huge problem facing
organizations today. As a result, “thousands of studies have been conducted
on the topic” (ibid., 97).
                                                                 
 

*
   Kelebone Leisanyane is an independent researcher based in Maseru, P.O. Box
1038, Maseru 100, Lesotho
**
   Peter Khaola is a lecturer in the Department of Business Administration,
National University of Lesotho, P.O. Roma 180, Lesotho, Tel: (+266)
58043421, Fax: (+266) 22 340000, Email: pp.khaola@nul.ls

 
60 EASSRR, vol. XXIX, no. 1 (January 2013)

Previous research has, however, failed to employ macro perspective in

understanding employee turnover in organizations (e.g. Sheridan 1992;
Carmeli 2005). Ng and Butts (2009, 304) suggest that the turnover literature
can benefit most by adopting both the individual and situational
perspectives. Mitchell, Holtom, and Lee (2001, 98) spearheaded their study
by suggesting that “even the more complex theories, with multiple attitudes
and assessments of perceived alternatives leave about 75 per cent of the
variance in turnover unexplained”. They argue that the prevailing
perspectives on leaving and staying are too narrow. The current study will
add to the limited number of studies that incorporate corporate culture into
predicting employee turnover intentions.
Since the 1980’s when the concept of organization culture gained
prominence in organizational studies, researchers have been examining its
determinants; the predictive validity of its determinants; its outcomes, and
how best to study the concept (Jung et al. 2009). But as suggested by other
researchers (Denison and Mishra 1995; Fey and Denison 2003; Gillespie et
al. 2008), explicit theories and empirical evidence remain limited.
Moreover, studies that exist were mostly carried out in Anglo-Saxon
countries (Fey and Denison 2003), and few were carried out in developing
countries. The current study explores the relationship between
organizational culture traits and turnover intentions in the least developed
African country. The contribution of this study is on its macro perspective
evaluation of intentions to leave, and the extent to which a theory of culture
developed in the US can be applicable in a least developed country. The
paper is organised around four more sections. Next, Section Two derives
testable hypotheses from theoretical background to intentions to leave, job
satisfaction and organisational culture. Section Three outlines the
methodology, and Section Four provides the findings. The discussion of the
results, limitations and prospects for future research are presented in
Section Five, and the final section of the study deals with the conclusion
and recommendations of the study.

2. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND AND HYPOTHESES

2.1 Predictors of Employee Turnover and Turnover Intentions
Nel et al. (2006, 551) define labour turnover as the voluntary movement of
employees in and out of the boundaries of the organisation; the movement
which constitute a permanent withdrawal from the work situation.
Many predictors of employee turnover have been identified in the literature.
These include job satisfaction; organizational commitment; perceived job
alternatives; promotional opportunities; perceptions of justice; perceived
organizational support; job performance; job content; leadership; realistic
job previews; work climate perception; organizational culture values, and
some demographic and personality factors (McEvoy and Cascio 1985 and
1987; Sheridan 1992; Griffeth, Hom, and Gaertner 2000; Ng and Butts

 
Leisanyane and Khaola. The Influence of Organisational Culture and Job.... 61 

2009; Hwang and Chang 2009). While a recent meticulous meta-analysis of

antecedents of turnover confirmed many of these determinants of turnover
(Griffeth, Hom, and Gaertner 2000), only few analysed determinants related
to organisation-wide variables such as culture. One of the aims of this study
is then to close that gap. The study is however based on turnover intentions
and not actual turnover. Turnover intention can be defined as “a conscious
and deliberate willingness to leave the organisation”.
According to the Theory of Planned Behaviour, intentions are the
proximal and best predictors of behaviour (Ajzen 1991). Past empirical
studies have also suggested that the two variables are closely related
(Griffeth, Hom, and Gaertner 2000; Ng and Butts 2009). In fact the
strongest determinants of actual turnover are job dissatisfaction and
turnover intentions (Griffeth, Hom, and Gaertner 2000). Many studies have
also used turnover intentions because in the process of dissatisfaction-
intentions-turnover, “a person may move back and forth between job
dissatisfaction and turnover intentions” for long periods of time, allowing
managers to deal with factors that cause actual turnover before the latter is
actualised (Tham 2007, 1228).

2.2 Employee Job Satisfaction and Turnover Intentions

Many studies have explored the phenomena of employee turnover by
investigating the individual-related variables and attitudes, including job
satisfaction (Carmeli 2005). Job satisfaction is described as “an employee’s
affective reactions to a job based on comparing desired outcomes with
actual outcomes” (Egan, Yang, and Bartlet 2004, 283). Griffeth, Hom, and
Gaertner (2000, 479) established in a meta-analytic study that overall job
satisfaction yielded higher predictive validity of turnover than specific
satisfaction facets. Work satisfaction yielded highest predictive validity of
all satisfaction facets. Egan, Yang, and Bartlet (2004) found a strong
correlation between overall job satisfaction and turnover intention among
information technology (IT) employees in the US. MacIntosh and Doherty
(2009) recently established that job satisfaction strongly and inversely
influenced intention to leave among employees of a fitness organisation in
Canada. Given the consistent finding that job satisfaction is one of the
strongest precursors of turnover intentions or actual turnover (Tham 2007),
it was expected that job satisfaction would be inversely related to turnover
intentions.
H1: Job satisfaction is negatively related to turnover intentions
However, as suggested by Egan, Yang, and Bartlet (2004, 283), “across
studies, the proportion of variance in turnover behaviour explained by
levels of satisfaction may be smaller than originally thought”, hence the
need to examine other possible precursors.

 
62 EASSRR, vol. XXIX, no. 1 (January 2013)

2.3 Organisational Culture and Turnover Intentions

A few studies have explored the relationship between organisational culture

and employee turnover or retention (e.g. Sheridan 1992; Ega, Yang, and
Bartlet 2004; Carmeli 2005; MacIntosh and Doherty 2009).
According to Denison (1984, 1), “most authors agree that corporate
culture refers to the set of values, beliefs, and behaviour patterns that form
the core identity of an organisation”. Nelson and Quick (2008, 387) define
organisational culture as a pattern of basic assumptions that are considered
valid and that are taught to new members as the way to perceive, think and
feel in the organisation.
While mainstream researchers in culture advocate a phenomenological
approach to the study of culture, others have adopted a positivist approach
and measured culture as a variable and compared it with ‘outcomes’
(Denison and Mishra 1995). A recent study discussing instruments for
exploring organisational culture identified well over 100 dimensions and 70
instruments deployed in studying this concept, suggesting that the choice of
approach or instrument is contingent on the purpose and context of study
(Jung et al. 2009).
In spite of this diversity of approaches and instruments for exploring
organisational culture, there is a wide agreement that culture leads to
organisational effectiveness (Denison 1984; Sheridan 1992; Gordon and
DiTomaso 1992; Denison and Mishra 1995; Fey and Denison 2003;
Gillespie et al. 2008; Jung et al. 2009).
Some studies specifically related organisational culture to turnover or
turnover intentions. MacIntosh and Doherty (2005) established that
organisational culture was inversely associated with intentions of club staff
to leave. Sheridan (1992) found that professionals hired in firms
emphasising the interpersonal relationship cultural values were likely to
stay longer than those hired in the firms emphasising the work task cultural
values. Carmeli (2005) found that the organisational culture that provides
challenging jobs reduce withdrawal intentions (intention to leave
occupation, job and organisation). Other dimensions of culture were not
significantly related to withdrawal intentions. Tham (2007) found that what
she termed “human resource orientation with the organisation” had the
strongest influence on intention to leave among social workers.
Based on the above findings, it was expected that organisational culture
would be inversely associated with turnover intentions.
In this study, Denison Organisational Culture Survey (DOCS) was used
to measure culture. Like many frameworks of culture, this model
conceptualises culture as a multidimensional construct. According to
Denison (1990), culture consists of four traits, namely involvement,
consistency, adaptability, and mission (see Figure 1).

 
Leisanyane and Khaola. The Influence of Organisational Culture and Job.... 63 

External Adaptability Mission

Reference
Point of Internal Involvement Consistency

Change and Stability and

Flexibility Direction

Figure 1. Denison’s Cultural Traits

SOURCE: Adapted from Denison (1990, 15)

Denison and colleagues (Denison and Mishra 1995; Fey and Denison
2003; Gillespie et al. 2008) define these traits as outlined below.
Involvement refers to employee commitment, sense of ownership,
involvement in decisions that affect them, and team orientation.
Consistency focuses on a set of management principles, consensus
regarding right and wrong ways to do things, and coordination and
integration across the organisation. Adaptability is the extent to which the
organisation has the capacity to deal with internal change in response to
external market demands. A shared mission explains why the organisation
exists, where it is headed, and provides sense of direction by identifying
goals and course of action for the organisation.
Denison and Mishra (1995, 216) categorise involvement and
adaptability as cultural traits related to organisation’s capacity to change,
while consistency and mission contribute to the organisation’s capacity to
remain stable and predictable over time. They argued that “the stability
traits of mission and consistency are useful predictors of profitability, while
the flexibility traits of involvement and adaptability are more potent
predictors of growth” (ibid., 221). Similar categorisation of cultural values
is found in Gordon and DiTomaso (1992, 789), who combined cultural
measurement scales into adaptability and stability.
It was therefore expected in this study that both the stability and
flexibility measures of culture would be negatively associated with turnover
intention.
H2: Stability measure of culture is negatively related to turnover intentions.
Specifically, it was also expected that individual stability cultural traits
would be inversely related to turnover intention.
H2A: Sense of mission is negatively related to turnover intention.
H2B: Consistency is negatively related to turnover intention.

 
64 EASSRR, vol. XXIX, no. 1 (January 2013)

H3: Flexibility or adaptability measure of culture is negatively

related to turnover intentions.
It was also expected that individual flexibility measures of culture
would be inversely related to turnover intentions.
H3A: Involvement is negatively related to turnover intentions.
H3B: Adaptability is negatively related to turnover intentions.
Many recent studies on culture and turnover have tested whether
cultural values influence turnover intentions directly, or whether the
relationship is mediated by job satisfaction (e.g. Sheridan 1992; Egan,
Yang, and Bartlet 2004; McIntosh and Doherty 2009). While the mediated
model is supported, past studies have also shown that certain elements of
organisational culture are more meaningful to intention to leave than others;
and that while some impact directly on this behavioural intention, others
impact indirectly (McIntosh and Doherty 2009). In this study, the unique
contribution of culture on intention in addition to demographic factors and
job satisfaction was tested.
H4: Cultural traits provide a unique contribution over
demographic factors and job satisfaction in the explanation
of turnover intentions.

3 . METHODS
3.1. Research Setting
The research setting was a local clay brick manufacturing company in
Lesotho. The Company has been manufacturing and distributing clay brick
products for the past 30 years and currently employs around 110 employees
with varying skill levels ranging from a production assistant to a qualified
engineer. The Company is situated at Thetsane Industrial Area in Maseru
and manufactures various types of face, plaster and paving bricks for local
and South African markets. The Government of Lesotho through the
Lesotho National Development Corporation (LNDC) is the majority
shareholder with 73.6% shares, while the Privatisation Unit holds 22.8% of
the shares. The Privatisation Unit is an institution established by an Act of
Parliament in 1995 with a mandate to implement the privatisation program
of the Lesotho Government. The remaining share (3.6%) is held by Lesotho
Energy Enterprise (Pty) Ltd.
A number of significant events have impacted negatively on the
Company in the recent past. The most significant of these was the listing of
the company for privatisation in 1997 according to the Privatisation Act of
1995 without a successful bidder. This precipitated a situation of low
morale among employees as a result of job insecurity perpetuated by the
eminent sale of the company and high staff turnover at senior management
indicating instability and a turbulent work environment. Next was the loss

 
Leisanyane and Khaola. The Influence of Organisational Culture and Job.... 65 

of the company’s on-site clay quarry in the year 2000 to make way for the
construction of a textile factory. The company was given insufficient time
to find suitable alternatives, and as a result significant quality problems
were experienced during the conversion to the new quarries, which also
increased the mining costs considerably due to the increased distance to the
new sites. The combination of all these adverse factors resulted in the
employees adopting a culture of disengagement, lack of sense of purpose
and high levels of voluntary work termination.

3.2 . Research Design, Sample and Procedure

The survey research design was adopted to collect the data for the current
study. The employee survey was deemed appropriate because the aim of the
study was to relate one variable to another. The targeted sample included all
employees of the company, excluding the first author who is a Managing
Director in the company. The questionnaires were distributed to 105
employees (excluding the first author and four employees who were not
available at the time of the survey). Ninety-nine (99) questionnaires were
returned, making the response rate 94 per cent. Of the respondent sample,
81% were males. The median age of employees was above 35 years of age,
and they had served in a company for a median of 7- to - 9 years. The
population was made up of staff from finance, manufacturing, human
resources, quality assurance, and sales and marketing departments.
Following a series of meetings between the first author and the employees
of the various departments in which the rationale and the purpose of the
study was explained, together with assurances of confidentiality and the
voluntary nature of employee participation, employees were requested to
collect the questionnaires from the human resources office and to return the
completed questionnaires within 48 hours without revealing their
identification via a sealed suggestion box situated at the human resources
office. A tally of the number of questionnaires issued was kept and each
questionnaire had a company stamp to ensure that questionnaires were not
duplicated by employees.
3.3 . Measures
Unless otherwise indicated, all scale variables were measured on a 5 - point
Likert-scale ranging from 1(strongly disagree) to 5(strongly agree).

Turnover Intentions
This was a dependent variable, and it was measured with five items derived
from the literature. The sample items included: “It is likely that I will look
for another job within the next six months”; “As soon as I can find a better
job, I will quit this organization”; “I often think about quitting my job”; “I
often think about leaving my organization”, and “I will probably look for a
job outside this organisation within three years”. The Cronbach’s alpha
(internal reliability) of the scale was 0.92.

 
66 EASSRR, vol. XXIX, no. 1 (January 2013)

Organizational Culture
Twelve (12) items selected from Denison’s (1990) Organizational Culture
Scale were used to measure cultural traits. The items were selected such
that they each represent the three subscales under each of the four traits
identified by the author (The items are reproduced in Appendix 1). The
Cronbach’s alpha for mission trait was 0.79, and that of consistency was
0.66. The Cronbach’s alpha for stability trait (an index of six items from
mission and consistency traits) was 0.80. Internal reliabilities for
involvement trait (0.48) and adaptability trait (0.46) were too low and
therefore these two traits were dropped. However, the Cronbach’s alpha of
flexibility trait (an index of six items from involvement and adaptability
traits) was moderate at 0.64, and was included in the model.

Job Satisfaction
One global indicator of job satisfaction, “I consider my job rather
unpleasant”, was used to tap into job satisfaction level. The item was
selected from the items developed by Brayfield and Rothe (1951, cited in
Judge et al. 2003, 312). The item was reverse coded so that higher scores
indicated higher levels of job satisfaction.

Demographic Factors
Three demographic factors were included in the model as control factors.
Gender was coded ‘1’ for males, and ‘2’ for females. Age was coded ‘1’ for
those below 20 years of age; ‘2’ for those who were 20 to 24 years of age;
‘3’ for those who were 25 years up to 35 years of age, and ‘4’ for those who
were above 35 years of age. Tenure at the organization was coded ‘1’ for
those who worked for less than one year; ‘2’ for those who worked for 1 to
3 years; ‘3’ for those who worked for 4 to 6 years; ‘4’ for those who worked
for 7 to 9 years; ‘5’ for those who worked for 10 to 12 years, and ‘6’ for
those who worked for more than 12 years.

4. RESULTS
The means, standard deviations, and correlations of the study variables are
shown in Table 1.

 
Leisanyane and Khaola. The Influence of Organisational Culture and Job.... 67 

Table 1. Means (M), Standard Deviations (SD), and inter-correlations among study variables
Variable M SD 1 2 3 4 5 5.1 5.2 6 7

1. Gender 1.19 0.39 -

2. Age 3.60 0.61 -0.17 -
3. Tenure 4.06 1.92 -0.32** 0.64** -
4. Intent 3.22 1.44 0.05 -0.12 -0.22* (0.92)
5. Stability Trait 3.26 1.00 0.15 0.18 0.06 -0.34** (0.80)
Mission 3.48 1.18 0.21 0.11 -0.06 -0.28* 0.88** (0.79)
Consistency 3.03 1.10 0.03 0.21 0.18 -0.28* 0.86** 0.60** (0.66)
6. Flexibility trait 3.29 0.86 0.04 0.11 0.01 -0.23* 0.72** 0.57** 0.68** (0.64)
7. job satisfaction 3.08 1.55 0.11 -0.23* -0.25* -0.41** 0.21 0.16 0.21 0.24* -

Note:
* Correlation is significant at 0.05 level (2-tailed), **Correlation is significant at 0.01 level (2-tailed)
Reliability coefficients, where relevant, are reported in parentheses.

 
68 EASSRR, vol. XXIX, no. 1 (January 2013)

On a scale ranging from 1 to 5, the mean figure of intentions to leave

was above midpoint, indicating that most of the participants expressed
intentions to leave the organisation (M=3.22, SD=1.44). Of the stability
index traits (M=3.26, SD=1.00), the participants expressed higher sense of
mission (M=3.48, SD=1.18) than consistency of management (M=3.03,
SD=1.10). The above midpoint score of flexibility index trait (M=3.29,
SD=0.86) suggests that on average participants perceived some
involvement in decisions that affect them; and some organisation’s capacity
to deal with internal change in response to external market demands.
As hypothesised (H1), job satisfaction negatively and significantly
correlated with turnover intentions (r=-0.41, p≤0.01). As could be also be
expected, turnover intentions were negatively and significantly correlated
with all cultural traits, namely stability index trait (r=-0.34, p≤0.01),
mission cultural trait (r=-0.28, p≤0.05), consistency cultural trait (r=-0.28,
p≤0.05), and flexibility index trait (r=-0.23, p≤0.05). Hypotheses-2 and its
sub-parts (H2, H2A, H2B), and Hypothesis-3 (H3) were hence supported. While
not hypothesised in this study, it is worth noting that turnover intentions
also correlated negatively and significantly with employee tenure (r=-0.22,
p≤0.05).
As each of the items used to measure cultural traits were drawn from 12
sub-scales in the Denison’s Model, it was intriguing to establish the items
that were responsible for the significant correlations observed. To do that,
each of the items was individually correlated with turnover intentions. The
results are shown below in Table 2.
While most items correlated somewhat negatively with turnover
intentions, some did not do so at the confidence level of 95% or better.
Within the mission cultural trait, only the item drawn from the ‘vision’ sub-
scale correlated with turnover intentions significantly (r=-0.31, p≤0.01).
The only item that correlated strongly with turnover intentions within the
consistency cultural trait was drawn from the ‘core values’ sub-scale (r=-
0.40, p≤0.01). Similar pattern was observed with regard to the involvement
cultural trait where the only item drawn from ‘capability development’ sub-
scale correlated significantly with turnover intentions (r=-0.36, p≤0.01).
None of the items drawn from the adaptability cultural trait correlated with
intentions at the confidence level of 95% or better, though ‘creating change’
(r=0.-20, p≥0.05) and ‘customer focus’ (r=-0.19, p≥0.05) sub-scales
marginally missed the required significance.

 
Leisanyane and Khaola. The Influence of Organisational Culture and Job.... 69 

Table 2. Correlation of turnover intention with items of cultural traits

Cultural values Turnover intention
R P
Mission
1. Our strategic direction is clear to me (Strategic -0.202 0.078
Direction and intent)
2. There is widespread agreement about goals (Goals -0.176 0.129
and Objectives)
3. We have a shared vision of what the organization -0.313 0.006
will be in the future (Vision)
Consistency
1. The leaders and managers practice what they preach -0.404 0.000
(Core values)
2. There is a clear agreement about the right way and -0.055 0.634
the wrong way of doing things (Agreement)
3. It is easy to coordinate projects across different parts -0.192 0.094
of the organization (Coordination and integration)
Involvement
1. Most employees are highly involved in their work -0.085 0.457
(Empowerment)
2. People work like they are part of a team (Team -0.056 0.626
orientation)
3. There is continuous investment in the skills of -0.358 0.01
employees (Capability Development)
Adaptability
1. The way things are done is very flexible and easy to -0.198 0.085
change (Creating change)
2. Customer input directly influences our decisions -0.185 0.110
(Customer focus)
3. We view failure as an opportunity for learning and -0.011 0.923
improvement (Organizational learning)

To evaluate Hypothesis-4 (H4), hierarchical regression analysis was run.

Demographic factors were entered in step 1, job satisfaction in step 2, and
cultural traits in step 3. The results are shown in Table 3.

 
70 EASSRR, vol. XXIX, no. 1 (January 2013)

Table 3. Hierarchical multiple regression results for turnover intentions

Turnover intentions (ß)
Step 1
Gender -0.026
Age -0.022
Tenure -0.305*
R2 0.058
Step 2
Job satisfaction -0.487**
Δ R2 0.253
Step 3
Stability cultural trait -0.328*
Flexibility cultural trait -0.166
Δ R2 0.052
Total R2 0.363
ß= standardized regression weights for the final equation.* p≤0.05, ** p≤0.01

Hypothesis-4 (H4) predicted that cultural traits would provide a unique

contribution over demographic factors and job satisfaction in the
explanation of turnover intentions. The unique variance contributed by
cultural traits (5.2%) was only marginally significant (F change, 2.66,
p=0.07). However, while flexibility cultural trait lost significance in the
regression equation after the inclusion of control variables and job
satisfaction (ß=-0.17, p≥0.05), the stability cultural trait remained strongly
related to turnover intentions (ß=-0.33, p≤0.05). Overall, the model
explained 36.3% of the variance in turnover intentions. This suggests that
culture has some influence on turnover intentions, and should not be
ignored in turnover intentions studies. Specifically, the results also suggest
that the Denison Organisational Culture Survey (DOCS) can be a reliable
and valid measure of organisational culture in Lesotho.

4. DISCUSSION
Previous research ignored the macro perspective in understanding employee
turnover in organizations. The other problem, according to Vandenberghe
(1999, 183), is that “organisational culture measures are rarely used outside
the national context where they are developed, and therefore their
generalisability to other nations is often questionable”. These latter
concerns are also expressed by Fey and Denison (2003) in their study of
organisational culture and effectiveness in Russia. The current study is an
initial attempt to extend the generalisability of the impact of culture on
turnover intentions of employees of a company in Lesotho.
Several key findings emerged from the study. As well, the study lends
support to the consistent finding that job satisfaction is the strongest
determinant of turnover intentions (Griffeth, Hom, and Gaertner 2000;

 
Leisanyane and Khaola. The Influence of Organisational Culture and Job.... 71 

Egan, Yang, and Bartlet 2004; Tham 2007; MacIntosh and Doherty 2009).
The association between the two variables remained strong in both the
correlation and regression analyses.
As hypothesised, both stability and flexibility cultural traits correlated
negatively with turnover intentions. Even though a variety of scales were
used in the past, this study is in accord with the findings of Egan, Yang, and
Bartlet (2004), Carmeli (2005), Tham (2007), and MacIntosh and Doherty
(2009).
While the variance contributed by cultural traits over demographic and
job satisfaction was only marginal, and the flexibility cultural trait lost
influence in the regression analysis, the influence of stability trait remained
strong in both correlation and regression analyses. Even though this study
did not test the mediating role of job satisfaction, the fact that one cultural
trait lost influence in the regression analysis supports the contention of both
Egan, Yang, and Bartlet (2004) and MacIntosh and Doherty (2009) that the
elements of organisational culture may impact turnover intention
(behavioural intention) both directly and indirectly.

Limitations and Prospects for Future Research

Even though the findings of this study confirmed our hypotheses and have
some practical and theoretical implications, some limitations have to be
considered when interpreting them.
First, the cross-sectional and correlational approach adopted precludes
causal inferences. For instance, as assumed in this study, it is possible that
cultural traits, e.g. lack of mission or involvement, have some impact on
turnover intentions. This however would not preclude the possibility that
people who have consciously formed the decision to leave would perceive
lack of mission or involvement, and vice versa. Although our assumption
that cultural traits impact on turnover intentions was based on current
thinking in turnover intentions studies, longitudinal studies are required to
draw inferences that culture impacts on turnover intentions.
Second, the data used in this study was collected from one source (self-
reported) at one particular point in time. This approach lends itself to
common method bias. While measurement of perceptions and attitudes can
meaningfully be explored through self-report data, future studies can reduce
the possibility of common method bias by collecting data from employees
at different points in time.
Third, the study was based on employees of one company in
manufacturing industry. As could be expected, men dominated the sample.
While using one company excludes the influence of various differences
(e.g. size of organisation or type of industry), it also limits the
generalisability of the findings. Future studies can try to replicate these
findings in various industries in Lesotho.

 
72 EASSRR, vol. XXIX, no. 1 (January 2013)

5. SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Based on the survey of employees in a clay brick manufacturing
company in Lesotho, the study reported here examined the impact of
job satisfaction and cultural traits on turnover intentions. Consistent
with previous studies, job satisfaction was the strongest predictor of
turnover intentions. Though the variance contributed by cultural traits
(stability and flexibility) over demographic factors and job
satisfaction was only marginally significant, and the impact of
flexibility cultural trait became insignificant in the regression
analysis, the influence of stability cultural trait remained strong in
both correlation and regression analyses.
As this study confirms, the consistent finding that job satisfaction
or job dissatisfaction is the decisive correlate of turnover intention
holds true in Lesotho. The managers who would like to reduce
employee turnover would still be advised to improve job satisfaction
of their employees. To do so, managers can enrich employee jobs
such that they (jobs) require a variety of skills, and provide potential
for growth, achievement and responsibility. When employees are
empowered to make decisions that affect their jobs, they take pride in
their jobs and hence reduce their decision to leave. While this is
hardly a new advice, this study also suggests that macro elements of
work environment, such as organisational culture, cannot be ignored.
Managers who would like to cut on turnover can further improve the
employee perception of organisational culture, especially elements
relating to organisational direction (vision and mission), and the
consistency with which espoused values are implemented by
management. Managers are not only advised to draw up some clear,
succinct and inspiring mission statements, but also practice what they
teach to reduce employee intentions to leave.
It is believed that with other retention plans, these practical steps
can help reduce employee turnover intentions and ultimately actual
turnover in organisations.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We would like to thank all those who took part in this research, including
the three anonymous reviewers from OSSREA for their constructive
comments and suggestions.

Appendix 1. Selected items from Denison’s (1990) Organisational

Culture Scale
In this organization...:
Involvement
4. Most employees are highly involved in their work.

 
Leisanyane and Khaola. The Influence of Organisational Culture and Job.... 73 

5. People work like they are part of a team.

6. There is continuous investment in the skills of employees.
Mission
4. ‘Our strategic direction is clear to me’.
5. There is widespread agreement about goals.
6. ‘We have a shared vision of what the organization will be in the future’.
Consistency
4. The leaders and managers practice what they preach.
5. There is a clear agreement about the right way and the wrong way of
doing things.
6. It is easy to coordinate projects across different parts of the
organization.
Adaptability
4. The way things are done is very flexible and easy to change.
5. Customer input directly influences our decisions.
6. ‘We view failure as an opportunity for learning and improvement’.

REFERENCES
Ajzen, I. 1991. The theory of planned behaviour. Organisational Behaviour and
Human Decision Processes, 50(2): 1–63.
Brayfield, A.H. and Rothe, H.F. 1951. An index of job satisfaction. Journal of
Applied Psychology, 73: 139–145.
Carmeli, A. 2005. The relationship between organisational culture and withdrawal
intentions and behaviour. International Journal of Manpower, 26(2): 177–
195.
Denison, D.R. 1984. Bringing corporate culture to the bottom line. Organisational
Dynamics, 13(2): 4–22.
Denison, D.R. 1990. Corporate culture and organisational effectiveness. New
York: Wiley.
Denison, D.R. and Mishra, A. K. 1995. Toward a theory of organizational culture
and effectiveness. Organization Science, 6(2): 204–223.
Egan, T.M., Yang, B. and Bartlet, K. 2004. The effects of organisational learning
culture and job satisfaction on motivation to transfer learning and turnover
intention. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 15(3): 279–301.
Fey, C.F. and Denison, D.R. 2003. Organizational culture and effectiveness: Can
American Theory be applied in Russia? Organization Science., 14(6): 686–
706.
Gillespie, M.A., Denison, D.R., Haaland, S., Smerek, R. and Neale, W.S. 2008.
Linking organizational culture and customer satisfaction: Results from two

 
74 EASSRR, vol. XXIX, no. 1 (January 2013)

companies in different industries. European Journal of Work and

Organisational Psychology, 17(1): 112–132.
Gordon, G.G. and DiTomaso, N. 1992. Predicting corporate performance form
organisational culture. Journal of Management Studies, 29(6): 783–798.
Griffeth, R.W., Hom, P.W. and Gaertner, S. 2000. A meta-analysis of antecedents
and correlates of employee turnover: update, moderator tests, and Research
implications for the next millennium. Journal of Management, 26(3): 463–
488.
Hwang, J. I. and Chang, H. 2009. Work climate perception and turnover intention
among Korean hospital staff. International Nursing Review, 56: 73–80.
Judge, A.T., Erez, A., Bono, J.E. and Thoresen, C.J. 2003. The core self-
evaluations scale: Development of a measure. Personnel Psychology, 56:
303–331.
Jung, T., Scott, T., Davies, H.T.O., Bower, P., Whalley, D., McNally, R. and
Mannion, R. 2009. Instrument for exploring organizational culture: A review
of the literature. Public Administration Review, November/December, 1087–
1096.
MacIntosh, E.W. and Doherty, A. 2005. Leader intention and employee perceptions
of organisational culture in a private fitness corporation. European Sport
Management Quarterly, 5(1): 1–22.
_________. 2009. The influence of organisational culture on job satisfaction and
intention to leave. Sport Management Review, Available from
<http://www.do:10.1016/j.smr.2009.04.006> (Retrieved 3rd March 2010).
McEvoy, G.M. and Cascio, W.F. 1987. Do good or poor performers leave? A meta-
analysis of the relationship between performance and turnover. Academy of
Management Journal, 30: 744–762.
_________. 1985. Strategies for reducing employee turnover: A meta-analysis.
Journal of Applied Psychology, 70: 342–353.
Mitchell, T.R., Holtom, B. C. and Lee, T.W. 2001. How to keep your best
employees: Developing an effective retention policy. Academy of
Management Executive, 15(4): 96–108.
Nel, P. S., Van Dyk, P. S., Haasbroek, G. D., Schultz, H. B., Sono, T. and Werner,
A. 2006. Human resources management, 6th Ed. Cape Town: Oxford
University Press.
Nelson, D. L. and Quick, J. C. 2008. Understanding organisational behaviour. 3rd
Ed. Canada: Thomson South-Western.
Ng, T.W.H. and Butts, M.M. 2009. Effectiveness of organizational efforts to lower
turnover intentions: the moderating role of employee locus of control. Human
Resource Management Journal, 48(2): 289–310.

 
 Leisanyane and Khaola. The Influence of Organisational Culture and Job.... 75 

Sheridan, J.E. 1992. Organisational culture and employee retention. Academy of

Management Journal, 35(5): 1036–1056.
Tham, P. 2007. Why are they leaving? Factors affecting intention to leave among
social workers in child welfare. British Journal of Social Work, 37: 1225–
1246.
Vandenberghe, C. 1999. Organisational culture, person-culture fit, and turnover: A
replication in the health care industry. Journal of Organisational Behaviour,
20: 175–184.

View publication stats